Shedding mechanism for looms



May l0, 1932.. s. A. PIERCE SHEDDING MECHANSM FOR LOOMS Filed No'v. 27, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR.

S/L As A. Fleece W/ TA/ES s CL /NTa/v S, CoUE/v.

i ATTORNEY.

Maly 1 0, 1932- s. A. PIERCE 1,857,474

SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Nw. 27, '1931 s sheets-sheet` 2 l W/TNE S INVENTOR. CZ nvm/v5. COBUEN. S/LASYA. P/EECE.

May l0, 1932-.- s. A. PIERCE SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 27. 1951 f'll H' INVENTOR. SrL/xs A. P/Eece.

MTA/E55 C2 m/ 729/v .S Goede/v.

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A TTORNEY.

Patented May 10, 1932 narran 'rara-s sitas Pinnen, or Swansea, Massnonosnrrs, nssIGNOR 'ro nRArEn CORPORATION;

Os normanna, MassAcnosET'rsn CORPORATION or MAINE' ,Y

SHEDDING MsoHAnisM ron Looms Application led November 2'?, 1931. Serial No. 577,516.

This invention relates to looms and more particularly to a shedding mechanism including novel means controlling a multiplicity of harness frames. s Y

,5 Shedding mechanisms may be divided, generally, into three classes, namely, cam shedding mechanism, dobby or head motion shedding mechanism and acquard shedding mechanism. Oli these the iirst is ordinarily 10 used for simple work involving the useof not more than six` or eight harness frames, the second is used for more complex work requiring up to possibly, twenty harness framed and the third is used for the production of intricate designs which would require the use of more harness frames than can con'- veniently be mounted on a loom.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide harness frame operating mechanism which' shall be adaptable oruse with any number of harness frames from two up to the capacity of the present dobby, and which shall be simple in construction and etlicient in Operation.

A further object of my invention is to provide a harness Jtrame operating mechanism including a single pair of pivoted, oppositely reciprocating treadles connectible, under con- 'trol of a pattern surface, with any-of aplurality of harness cords, the points ofrconnection with the various 'harness cords being at the proper distance from the fulcrum of the l treadles to cause all of the harnesses to open the warps to substantially the same angle.

Other objects, not speciically enumerated, will become apparent as the' description proceeds.

The preferred embodiment of my invention, herein disclosed, includes any desired number of harness frames mounted, as usual, in substantially parallel planes and vertically reciprocated for controlling the position of the various warp threads.' Each harness frame is connected, top and bottom, with harness cords running over aset of sheaves( et least one sheave inV each set is providedY with a spring detent tending to Yhold thev wardly past the end of theframe, around more sheaves and upto the `bottom of the Ytrame and, in the present instance, are contained entirely in the plane of the respective Jframe. `A pair of treadlesvare pivoted, one i abovel the other, below the harness frames, on a vertical axis contained in thevertical plane vwhich includes the fell of the cloth. These treadles extend rearwardly, one above and the other below the lowermost runs of the harness cords. One treadle is reciproc'ated byk a single cam. The secondv treadle reciprocated' from theiflrst treadle, but in an opposite-direction. Cooperating means on the treadles and cords are provided selectively connecting any or all of the cords for movement with'either treadle, under control of a. pattern surface. Thus,the single cam serves to raise or lower any or all of the harness frames' in anyv desired sequence, under control of" the pattern surface.

Referring more particularly to the drawings: Y n f Eig. lis a view in front elevation of a loom embodying my invention, A Fig. 2-is an end elevation, taken from the left otFig. 1:, and, .o f

Fig. 3 isa'sectional plan'view with parts broken away or omitted to more clearly showr the mechanism involved.

The frame work of' the loom embodying my inventionmay consist ofthe usualY loom sides l and 2 carrying arches 3 ande-and Aconnected by girts such as 5 and 6. Suitable harnessframes 7 of the desired number are 85 supported in substantially parallel vertical planes between the e arches. The various mechanisms of which the loom is comprised are driven from a main shaft 8 and cam shaft 9 journalled in' boxes onv the loom sides, and 90 since thesey mechanisms, with Vthe exception of the shedding mechanism, may be of any usual construction andA form nopart' of the presentinventionthey need notbe illustrated or described. v v .e s v As above indicated, there may be any suitable number Of harness frames, but only two, the extreme front and kthe extreme' vrear frames, are illustrated other than;v diagrammatically.` The various frames are supported 100 and Aoperated by duplicate sets of harness cords operating over suitable sheaves.' Of these duplicate sets only one need be described in detail. Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, a cord, orstrap, 10 is connected as by harness connector 11 with the top of the front harness frame 7. This cord passes over a sheave 12 rotatably mounted on a stud supported by the arches 3 and 4 and is fastened to second sheave 13, similarly mount-ed. A second cord 14V connects the sheave 13 with the right hand end of the harness frame. A cord 15, likewise fast at one end to she'ave 13, passes downwardly past the end of the harness frame, thence about a sheave 16 and to the sheave 16 and the other end fixed to groove 26 in a cam 27 fixed on cam shaft 9 the bottom ofthe harness frame. lt will thus be seen that the frame is mounted for movement independent of the movements of the other frames.

I prefer to provide means for releasably locking each frame in raised or lowered position'. Such means, in the present instance, is comprised ofa spring pressed plunger 19 guided infan adjustable block 2O supported by brackets V2O on the arches, and adapted to engage behindy a projection 13 or 13" on sheave l13, constituting, in effect, a springl detent. f

A pair of treadles 21 and 22, directly below the harness frames, are pivoted ona vertical pin 23. This pin is positioned in the vertical plane containing the fell 24 of theclothl being woven (see Fig-2). The treadles extend from the pivot pin rearwardly through the planes of the harness frames, on opposite sides of the lower runs of the harness cords 15, the treadle 21 extending above the cords and the treadle 22 extending-'below the same. The treadle 21 is provided, on its upper surface, with a rollerl 25 engaging in a cam whereby the treadle is reciprocated lengthwise of the adjacent cords 15 in a horizontal plane.

Tliefrear end of treadle 21 engages a pin in the u ser run of a chain 28 passinor aboutidler sprockets 29. The-*treadle 22 engages a pin on the lower run ofthe chain 28, and, therefore, reciprocatesoppositely to the direction of reciprocation of the treadle 21. Y

The cords 15 are each provided with a block 30, orV other suitablefform of latch member I contiguous faces of the' treadles. i Yfingers 32 loosely engaging the cords control the engagement and disengagement of the l latch members with the blocks on the treadles,

there being one suchfinger for each cord. In the present instance each finger 32 is piv- 5; Loted at one end on a pin 33 carried by a girt 5, and is vprovided at its other end with a recess loosely embracing the respective cord.

The fingers 32 are controlled by a suitable pattern surface, constituted in the present instance by a conventional pattern chain 34 operating over sprockets `35 and carrying rows of removable pins 36'directly engaging the lingers. The right hand sprockets 35 are feathered on a shaft 36 slidably and rotatably mounted in bearings on the loom frame. The rear end of this shaft 36 carries a collar 37 having a clutch face adapted to co-operate with a clutch face on a worm gear 38 loosely mounted on the shaft and driven through worm 39, shaft 40 and gearing 41 from the cam shaft 9. A coil spring-42 extending between one of the shaft bearings and a collar 43 fixed on the shaft 36 tends to hold the said clutch faces in engagement. However, by means of a hand wheel 44, the shaft36may be pushed rearwardly to disengage the clutch and then rotated to adjust the pattern surface, i. e. to find the pick.

VThe operation is as follows:

Considering the front harness only, this harness is shown in Fig. 1 in its lowermost position, with latch 30 on the front cord 15 engaging block 31 on the lower treadle 22. Assuming that it is desired to leave the harness in this lowered position for one pick, a pin 36 will be provided on the pattern chain which will engage the front finger 32 and raise it just before the treadle 22 starts to move to the left, thus disengaging the latch 30 from the blockV 31. Y move to the left and treadle 21 will move to the right without moving this front harness cord. the spring detent 19 on sheave 13 lockin the harness frame in its lowered position. ince the cam shaft, as is usual, makes one complete revolution for each two picks, at the end of one pick it will have made one half revolution and the treadles will have changed positions. Thatis, treadle21 will be to the right of pivot pin 23 and treadle 22 will be tothe left thereof. If it is now desired to raise the front'harness a pin 36 will be provided in the pattern chain which will raise the front finger'32 and thus raise the cord 15 until latch 30 is positioned in the recess in block 31 on the upper treadle21 which treadle will then move to the left and by virtue of being connected to cord 15 will raise the harness frame against the action of the spring detent. The vfront harness frame may then be left locked in raised position for any desired number of picks an d then lowered, by the proper positioning of pins in the pattern chain. v

lVith the parts again in the position shown in Fig. 1 should it be desired to raise the front harness frame immediately instead of leaving it lowered during one pick as above, a pin will be omitted from the pattern chain, allowing latch 30 to remain in the recessed block whilethe treadle 22 moves to the left, after The treadle 22 will then *"5 seen that, according to the pattern, any or all ot the cords may be selectively connected for movement with either treadle in any desired sequence. A

It is noted that si-nce the pointo connection. of each cord 15 with the treadles is in the plane of the respective'h-arness frame and the pivot point of the treadles i-s in the vertical plane containing the fell of ther cloth each frame will be moved a distancewhich is directly proportional to the distancev of the re spective frame from the fell lof the cloth. rl`hus all ot the :trames will open the shed to exactly the same angle.. This same result could be obtained,though not as conveniently, by other relationships of the parts, the essential eature being that the distance from the connection between the treadle and each cord to the pivot point of the particular treadle be directly proportional to the distance from the respective harness frame tothe fell of the cloth.

It is also noted t-hat whilel I preferto position the treadles and associated parts directly underneath the harnessframes and to pivot the treadles on a common axis they may,'in certain instances, be positioned elsewhere and the treadles may be separately mounted,` although the construction shown is much more compact and susceptible of simplicity in design.

It is, therefore, to bev understood that the embodiment of my invention hereinfdisclosed is for purposes of description only and not of limitation, and that numerous variations may be resorted to within the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

l. A shedding mechanism for looms, comprising a plurality of harness frames, means including harness cordsfor raising and lowering each harness -frame independently of the others, means for locking each frame in raised or lowered position, a pair of treadles positioned respectively above and below lengths of said cords directly underneath the harness frames, means for reciprocatingsaid treadles in opposite directions lengthwise of said cords and pattern controlled means for selectively connecting any of said lengths of cords for movement with either of said treadles, to thereby move the respective harness frame from one locked position to the other.

2. A shedding mechanism for looms, comprising a plurality of harness trames, harness cords operatively associated with'each frame for raising and lowering the same, means for locking each frame in raised or lowered position, a pair of treadles positioned one above the other directly Vunderneath the frames, each treadle lbeing pivoted at its front end on a verticalv axis-f and extending rearwardly crosswise of said harness cords', ay cam for reciprocating one of said treadles in a horizontal plane, means connectingthe second tread-le with the irst treadle tor reciprocation in the opposite direction, and pattern controlled meansv for selectively connecting any ot'said cords: for movement with either of said' treadles; to thereby move the respective harness :trame to the other. e

3; A shedding mechanism for looms, comprising a plurality of harness frames,.harness cords operatively associated with each frame for raisingand lowering the same, a pair of treadles positioned respectively on opposite troni one locked posi-tion sides of said cords,a camfor reciprocating f on'e of said treadleslengthwise ot the cords, means connecting the second treadle with the rs't treadle for simultaneous reciprocation thereby in the opposite direction, and pattern controlled means for selectively connecting any of said cords for movement with either treadle.i 1 Y 4. A shedding mechanism for looms, com.- prisin'g'a plurality of harness trames, harness cord-s operatively associated withl eachztrame for raising and lowering the same, means for locking eachframe in raised or lowered position, a pair of treadles positioned respective*- ly on opposite sides of the cords,.said treadles being pivotedl adjacent their front ends and extending rearwardly crosswise oi said cords, cam means for reciprocating said treadles in opposite directions lengthwise of the por'- tions of said cords positioned therebetween, and pattern controlled means for selectively. connecting any of saidcords for movement with either treadle.

5, A shedding mechanism for looms, com'- prising a plurality of harness trames, harness cord's connected with thetop and bottom of each" frame for raising and lowering each frame independently of the others, sets of sheaves for guiding said cords4 iir-ther movements, a springdetenttor one sheave ini each set tending to hold the respective `harness trame in raised or lowered position, a pair of oppositely reciprocating treadles for moving the cords, and pattern controlled means Jfor selectively connecting any of the cords with either treadle. y p

6. A shedding mechanism for looms, com prising aplurality of harness frames, each frame being supported and operated by a set of independent harness cords connectedk to the top and bottomv of the respective frame and passing around sheaves contained in the planejof the frame, at least one sheave ot each set being provided with aspring detent tending to hold the sheave stationary when the harnessis in either raisedfor'lowere'd position,

A axis'directly proportional'to the distance of the respective Vframe from the fell of the cloth, to thereby produce a uniform shed opening. Y

8. A shedding mechanism for looms, comprising a plurality of harnessframes positioned in parallel planesharness cords connected to move each harness framev independently of the others, a pair of oppositely reciprocating treadles pivoted in the plane, parallel to the harnesses, containing the fell of the cloth being woven, said treadles extending rearwardly through the planes of the harness frames, Vandmeans for independently connecting the harness cords for each successive frame to the treadles, kthe connecting means for each frame being located inthe plane of the respective lframe, whereby th-e treadles will move each frame a distance l which is directly proportional to its distance from the fell of the cloth, to thereby provide a uniform shed opening.

9. A shedding mechanism for looms, coniprising harness frames positioned in adjacent `Vertical planes, means for individually locking said frames in raised or lowered position, a pair of oppositely reciprocating treadles pivoted in the vertical plane containing the fell of the cloth being woven and eX- tending rearwardly therefrom, harness cords forl moving the frames against the action of said locking means, and pattern controlled means for connecting any of said harness cords with either treadle at a point in the plane of therespective frame.k

10. A shedding mechanism for looms, comrisinff a luralitv of harness frames osib tioned in parallel r`vertical planes, harness cords connectedwith the top and bottom of each frame and extending around the end thereof in the plane of the respective frame,

therebetween, there being one such cord Lfor each harness frame, recessed blocks on the contiguous faces of the treadles adjacent each cord, a latch member on each cord adapted to be positioned in the recess in the adj acentl block on either 'treadle, and pattern means for selectively controlling the engagement of the latch members with the blocks.

13. A shedding mechanism for looms, com-r latch members and blocks, and means includ- G ing a pattern foroperating said fingers.

14. A shedding mechanism for looms, comprising a plurality of harness frames, a pair of oppositely reciprocating treadles pivoted on a common axis, a plurality of harness operating cords extending laterally of said treadles therebetween, there being one such cord for each harness frame, pivoted fingers for establishing 'an operative connection between each cord and either treadle, means including a pattern surface for operating the fingers, and `means including a clutch for driving said pattern.

SILAS A.A PIERCE.

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